Updates, advisories and surprises

(11:51 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bank of America Corp.
BAC, +0.61%
warned Friday of a multi-billion dollar hit from the latest financial regulation, pressuring shares of the banking giant. Reforms that passed Congress Thursday include potential limits on debit card interchange fees recieved or charged by issuers like Bank of America. The company estimated this could knock as much as $1.8 billion to $2.3 billion off annual revenue generated by its Global Card Services business, starting in the third quarter of 2011. This part of Bank of America's business carries $22 billion of goodwill on its books, partly from the $35 billion acquisition of card giant MBNA in 2005. Based on the estimated revenue hit from interchange fee regulation, Bank of America said this goodwill may be impaired by $7 billion to $10 billion in the third quarter of 2010. Bank of America shares fell 7.7% to $14.21 in midday action on Friday.

LSB shares leap after deal with People's United

(11:26 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - LSB Corp.
LSBX
shares leaped 45% in Friday trading. The North Andover, Mass., parent of RiverBank definitively agreed to be acquired for $21 cash a share, or $96 million, by People's United Financial Inc.
PBCT, -0.35%
The deal price is a 49% premium to LSB's closing price Thursday of $14.12. Both companies' boards have approved the terms. Shares of People's United, the Bridgeport, Conn., bank-holding company, were down 4% on Friday. Subject to conditions including regulatory clearance, the companies hope to close the deal in the fourth quarter.

Gannett explains percentage of publishing decline

(11:07 AM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Gannett Co.'s
GCI, +2.09%
Friday-morning stock-price decline of as much as 11% stems from concern about the company's statement that its publishing revenue was down by a low-to-mid single digit percentage in the second-quarter, a greater drop than was anticipated, an analyst said during the company's conference call Friday morning. Gannett Chief Operating Officer Gracia Martore explained that the decline was about 3.8% on a constant-currency basis, taking into account the company's UK Newsquest operations. "[That is] the number we were focused on when we were looking at speaking about our numbers," Martore said. "And so we feel good that we came in at the better end of the range that we talked about [in June]."

Mattel shares off after 2nd-quarter report

(11:01 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Mattel
MAT, -0.64%
shares fell more than 7% in Friday's trading. The El Segundo, Calif., toymaker reported second-quarter profit more than doubled, to 14 cents a share from 6 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue grew 13% to $1.02 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $1.02 billion. "I am pleased with the continued solid performance across our portfolio of brands and countries, particularly Barbie and Hot Wheels, as well as the stellar contribution of the much-anticipated Toy Story 3 property," Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Eckert said in a Friday statement.

Gannett shares down 8.3%

(10:32 AM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Gannett Co.
GCI, +2.09%
shares were down 8.3% at $13.85 in early morning trading Friday, one of the biggest declines among S&P 500 companies, as investors were unmoved by second-quarter results that revealed its best newspaper advertising results in three years. Gannett said that in its publishing segment, advertising revenues in the second quarter were $692.2 million, a decline of 5.7% compared with the second quarter last year. Gannett and other newspaper publishers have reported diminishing declines in ad revenue in recent quarters as the economy has shown signs of recovery, so expectations appear to have been very high in the days leading up to Gannett's Friday earnings announcement.

Polycom shares down after 2nd-quarter report

(10:16 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Polycom
PLCM
shares were off more than 8% in Friday trading. The Pleasanton, Calif., producer of video and voice communications technology reported second-quarter net income fell 18% to $12.6 million, or 14 cents a share, from $15.3 million, or 18 cents, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, profit reached 34 cents from 29 cents. Revenue rose 28% to $294.6 million from $230.7 million. A survey of analysts by FactSet yielded consensus estimates of 32 cents a share of profit on $286.4 million of revenue.

People's United down 4% after earnings, takeovers

(10:14 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of regional bank People's United Financial Inc.
PBCT, -0.35%
fell by more than 4% in early trading Friday as investors reacted to the bank's second-quarter earnings results and an agreement to buy two local banks. Late Thursday, People's United said profit in the latest quarter was $16 million, or 4 cents a share, down from $25.3 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time charges, profit would have been 9 cents a share, matching analysts' estimates. Also Thursday, People's United said it had reached a deal to buy LSB Corp.
LSBX
for $96 million cash, which values each share of LSB at $21, and Smithtown Bancorp Inc.
SMTB
for $60 million in cash and shares, valuing each Smithtown share at $4 at current prices. LSB is the parent of RiverBank while Smithtown owns Bank of Smithtown.

Dollar, Treasurys improve after confidence drops

(10:02 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar pared a loss and Treasury prices extended gains on Friday after the University of Michigan/Reuters index of consumer sentiment fell to 66.5 this month from 76 in June, a much bigger drop than analysts predicted. The euro
EURUSD, -0.5086%
traded at $1.2961, after briefly breaching $1.30 and versus $1.2906 late Thursday. The dollar index
DXY, +0.47%
which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, dropped to 82.338 from 82.550 Thursday. Yields on 10-year notes
TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00%
which move inversely to prices, fell 4 basis points to 2.96%, heading back towards 14-month lows.

Google falls 5% to lead tech retreat

(9:40 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc.
GOOG, +1.66%
shares fell more than $27, or 5.6%, to $466.95 Friday, to lead a broad slate of declines in the tech sector. Google was in the red after it reported second-quarter earnings late Thursday that fell short of Wall Street analysts' forecasts. Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD, +0.00%
which also reported quarterly results late Thursday, was down 23 cents a share, or 2.7%, at $7.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index
$COMPQ
fell 14 points to 2,235.

Treasurys up, dollar down after Treasury inflows

(9:24 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar stayed down and short-term Treasury prices held onto gains on Friday after the Treasury Department said international capital inflows to U.S. debt in May slowed to $33 billion, primarily going into mortgage agency bonds. The euro
EURUSD, -0.5086%
rose to $1.2980, after briefly breaching $1.30 and versus $1.2906 late Thursday. The dollar index
DXY, +0.47%
which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, dropped to 82.237 from 82.550 Thursday. Yields on 10-year notes
TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00%
which move inversely to prices, fell 1 basis point to 2.98%.

GE sees low impact from new financial regulation

(9:24 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Electric Co.
GE, +0.79%
said Friday that new U.S. financial regulation will have a low impact on its business and that it can meet any new cash-balance requirements for GE Capital. "We think the impact is going to be manageable," said Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin, on a post-earnings call with analysts. "We feel confident that we're going to be able to meet whatever the requirements are to be well capitalized." The Federal Reserve will become the segment's regulator, with a transition occurring sometime in the 12 to 18 months after legislation is enacted, Sherin said. Earlier, Sherin said GE Capital has recovered its profitability and that it would not need a cash contribution from GE's industrial-side businesses.

GE Capital won't need industrial-side funding: CFO

(9:12 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Electric Co.
GE, +0.79%
said Friday that profit recovery in its financial business means it won't need a cash contribution from its industrial-side business. That should provide some relief for investors who worried a transfer of cash would hurt the conglomerate's industrial growth just as the global economy was coming out of a recession. Earlier it was announced that GE Capital swung to a pretax profit in the second quarter and that losses related to bad loans were starting to fall off. "Based on our first-half pretax results, it seems that there shouldn't be any need for a contribution from GE to GE Capital," said GE Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin, on a post-earnings call with analysts.

Gannett profit more than doubles

(9:03 AM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Gannett Co.
GCI, +2.09%
said Friday that its second-quarter profit more than doubled on a tax gain and an ongoing improvement in advertising spending, as the largest U.S. newspaper unit had its best year-over-year ad comparisons in three years. Gannett said it earned $195.5 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with a profit of $70.5 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding special items, Gannett said it would have earned $146.4 million, or 61 cents a share, in the latest three months. Revenue slipped 2% to $1.37 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were expecting a profit of 55 cents a share in the second quarter. Separately on Friday, Gannett said it's teaming up with search engine giant Yahoo
YHOO, +0.85%
on a local advertising pact. Gannett's newspaper sites in 81 markets will sell Yahoo advertising inventory, expanding their reach among digital advertisers in each of those areas.

Daimler's quarterly earnings, revenue soar

(8:50 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- German premium-car maker Daimler AG(DE:DAI)said Friday its second-quarter earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) soared to 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion) compared to a loss of 1 billion euros in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose to 25.1 billion euros from 19.6 billion euros, Daimler said in a statement of its preliminary earnings. The Mercedes-Benz Cars unit made a particularly strong contribution to earnings, the firm said. German firms often pre-announce results. Daimler said it will increase its Ebit guidance for 2010 as part of its second-quarter report on July 27. Shares of Daimler gained 0.9% in Frankfurt trading.

Treasurys fall, Dollar stays down after CPI

(8:37 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar stayed down and short-term Treasury prices fell briefly on Friday after a report showed U.S. consumer prices fell 0.1% in June. The euro
EURUSD, -0.5086%
rose to $1.2992, after briefly breaching $1.30 and versus $1.2906 late Thursday. The dollar index
DXY, +0.47%
which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, dropped to 82.194 from 82.550 Thursday. Yields on 2-year notes
TMUBMUSD02Y, +0.00%
which move inversely to prices, rose slightly then reverted to nearly unchanged on the day at 0.61%.

Citigroup reports profit drop, beats estimates

(8:22 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Citigroup Inc.
C, -0.18%
said Friday that its second-quarter profit fell to $2.7 billion, or 9 cents a share, from $4.3 billion, or 49 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Income available to common shareholders was $2.7 billion, compared to $3 billion in the second quarter of 2009. Revenues fell to $22.1 billion from $33.1 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had expected, on average, profit of 5 cents a share on revenue of $22.4 billion.

Schwab posts flat second-quarter profit

(8:18 AM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Charles Schwab Corp.
SCHW, -0.25%
said Friday that its second-quarter profit was $205 million, or 17 cents a share, compared to $205 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Net revenue slipped slightly to $1.08 billion from $1.085 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had expected, on average, profit of 15 cents a share on revenue of $1.05 billion. The San Francisco financial-services firm said total client assets were $1.36 trillion, up 11% from the year-earlier quarter. New brokerage accounts totaled 206,000. Schwab now hosts 7.9 million active brokerage accounts.

Rockwell Collins quarterly profit slips 2%

(7:44 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Rockwell Collins
COL, -0.33%
said Friday its fiscal third-quarter earnings fell to $142 million, or 89 cents a share, from $145 million, or 91 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose 12% to $1.2 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of 88 cents a share on sales of $1.21 billion. For the full year, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based aerospace company narrowed its profit forecast to about $3.50 a share, compared to a prior outlook of $3.35 to $3.55 a share. Sales are now predicted to be about $4.7 billion, versus a range of $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion. The Wall Street consensus is for a fiscal 2010 profit of $3.57 a share on sales of $4.67 billion.

PepsiCo quarterly dividend rises 7%

(7:37 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- PepsiCo Inc.
PEP, +1.39%
said Friday it's increasing its quarterly dividend by 7% to 48 cents a share. The dividend is payable on Sept. 30 to shareholders of record on Sept. 3.

First Horizon swings to profit

(7:29 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- First Horizon National Corp.
FHN, -0.58%
said Friday it swung to a second-quarter profit of $2.7 million, or a penny a share, from a loss of $27.7 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Wall Street analysts expected a loss of 9 cents a share, according to a survey by FactSet Research. The Memphis, Tenn. financial firm said its loan loss provision fell from the previous quarter, while mortgage banking income rose during the same period.

Bank of America profit, revenue slip

(7:20 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Bank of America Corp.
BAC, +0.61%
said Friday its second-quarter profit fell to $3.1 billion, or 27 cents a share, from $3.2 billion, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Net income applicable to common shareholders was $2.8 billion, up from $2.4 billion. Total revenue net of interest expense at the Charlotte, N.C.-based financial services firm was $29.2 billion, down from $32.8 billion in the second quarter of 2009. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had expected, on average, profit of 22 cents a share on revenue of $29.6 billion. Bank of America said in a statement that the latest results were boosted by lower credit costs and the sale of non-core assets, but were hurt by lower trading account profits, reduced mortgage banking income and the U.K. tax on bank bonuses.

(6:16 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Industrial compressor and mining equipment firm Atlas Copco(SE:ATCOA)said its second-quarter profit jumped 72% to 2.52 billion Swedish krona ($344 million), with revenue up 8% to 17.43 billion krona and orders up 32% to 19.22 billion krona. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting a profit of 2.14 billion krona on sales of 16.74 billion krona. Sequential improvement, compared with previous quarter, was seen in all major regions and in most customer segments, and the company's operating margin rose on cost reductions, efficiency measures, a favorable sales mix, volumes, price increases and more favorable exchange rates. In emerging markets, demand is expected to develop favorably in all business areas, while demand in North America and parts of Europe is expected to increase gradually.

Toy Story 3 helps Mattel profit more than double

(6:10 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Toy maker Mattel Inc.
MAT, -0.64%
said Friday that its second-quarter net profit more than doubled to $51.6 million, or 14 cents a share, from $21.5 million, or 6 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter grew 13% to $1.02 billion and was up 16% excluding the impact of unfavorable moves in exchange rates. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $1.02 billion. "I am pleased with the continued solid performance across our portfolio of brands and countries, particularly Barbie and Hot Wheels, as well as the stellar contribution of the much-anticipated Toy Story 3 property," said Robert Eckert, chairman and CEO.

Fortum slips after reporting profit drop

(3:48 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Fortum(FI:FUM1V)dropped nearly 4% in Helsinki as the company said its second-quarter profit fell 9% to 263 million euros, while sales rose to 1.3 billion euros from 1.19 billion euros. Its 351 million euro operating profit was worse than the 385 million euros expected by analysts. Its main power division saw a declining profit on lower achieved power price, less benign generation mix and the higher costs in associated nuclear generating companies.

Spectris shares jump 12% as demand improves

(3:36 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares in U.K. instrumentation and controls manufacturer Spectris
SXS, +0.82%
rose over 12% Friday after the company said it's continuing to see an improvement in demand, with signs of recovery across most regions and end markets. The group said that as a result it expects first-half sales comparable sales to rise around 8%, with total revenue expected to rise 9%. Spectris said all four of its divisions will show comparable revenue growth. Adjusted operating profit is expected to more than double to around 50 million pounds ($77 million) from 20 million pounds a year earlier.

Rautaruukki rallies after hiked sales outlook

(3:34 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Finnish steelmaker Rautaruukki(FI:RTRKS)
RUKKY
jumped 8% in early trade as the company swung to a second-quarter profit of 20 million euros as sales jumped 50% to 655 million euros. It lost 94 million in the prior-year period. The company also reported a 33% increase in order intake. It hiked its sales outlook to a range of 25% to 30% growth, from a previous view of 15% to 20%, and it expects "significantly" improved profitability in 2010.

Sony Ericsson swings to profit

(2:50 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Cell phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson said Friday that it swung to a second-quarter profit of 12 million euros ($15.5 million) from a loss of 213 million euros a year earlier as higher average selling prices more than offset a drop in the number of units shipped. The joint venture between Sony
SNE, +0.82%
and Ericsson
ERIC, +2.38%
(SE:ERICB)said revenue for the quarter rose 4.3% to 1.76 billion euros and the average selling price rose 31% to 160 euros due to an improved product and geographical mix as well as positive currency effects. The total number of units shipped fell 20% to 11 million due to the reduction in size of the company's product portfolio. Market share remained flat at around 4%, the group said. Sony Ericsson also said the transformation program it started in 2008 is on track to reduce annual operating expenses by 880 million euros by the end of the year.

Tax gain boosts Yara's second-quarter results

(2:25 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Yara International ASA(NO:YAR)said Friday its second-quarter net profit soared to 3.72 billion Norwegian kroner ($601 million) from 1.12 billion kroner in the same period a year ago. The results benefited from the 2.6 billion kroner after-tax gain on the sale of Yara's shares in the Brazilian phosphate producer Fosfertil. Revenue fell to 15.68 billion kroner from 16.13 billion kroner. Analysts polled by Dow Jones and FactSet expected net profit of 3.75 billion kroner and revenue of 16.48 billion kroner. "Global nitrogen prices have increased as demand has picked up, and European nitrate prices have started substantially higher than at the beginning of the previous season, supported by low inventories," the firm said.

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